Signal degradation detection
First Claim
1. A method to provide maintenance to a receiver, comprising:
- determining a time series of test quantities for receiver, the test quantities based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at a plurality of time instances;
receiving a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an expected signal quality for the receiver;
eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities does not trend downward for a predetermined number of time instances;
eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is not below the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time;
determining a failure prediction for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of determining the failure prediction only performed if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction; and
identifying the receiver for maintenance if the failure prediction indicates a future unacceptable signal strength for the receiver.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Implementations are directed to predicting signal degradation at receivers used to display a programming service. The receivers capture signal strength data that is then transmitted to a processing location, which may be associated with a provider of the programming service. A signal degradation detector at the provider operates to predict whether or not a future unacceptable signal quality will occur within a time interval. The prediction may be based on a test quantity calculated from signals captured at the receiver and based on a figure of merit for the geographic locale in which the receiver is located. A maintenance call may be initiated for those receivers that have such a poor signal quality.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method to provide maintenance to a receiver, comprising:
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determining a time series of test quantities for receiver, the test quantities based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at a plurality of time instances; receiving a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an expected signal quality for the receiver; eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities does not trend downward for a predetermined number of time instances; eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is not below the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time; determining a failure prediction for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of determining the failure prediction only performed if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction; and identifying the receiver for maintenance if the failure prediction indicates a future unacceptable signal strength for the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for providing maintenance to a plurality of receivers, comprising:
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receiving signal histories for a first group of receivers; identifying a second group of receivers from the first group of receivers, the second group of receivers having a downward trending signal strength and a signal strength below a predetermined level for at least one time instance; creating a linear signal strength function for each of the second group of receivers, the linear signal strength function based on the signal history for the receiver and the predetermined level; identifying a third group of receivers by selecting, from the second group of receivers, those receivers whose linear function has a slope and an intercept that indicate a future unacceptable signal strength; and flagging the third group of receivers for maintenance. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for providing maintenance to a receiver, comprising:
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a test quantity module operable to determine a time series of test quantities for a receiver based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at plurality of time instances; a figure of merit module operable to receive a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an expected signal quality for the receiver; and a prediction module operable to; eliminate the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is not tending downwards for a predetermined number of time instances eliminate the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is not below the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time; and only if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction, determine a failure prediction for the receiver based on a linear function computed from the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification